Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners are prepared to:

• Perform comprehensive health assessments, including ordering, performing and interpreting diagnostic tests and procedures
• Perform the following procedures:
  • point-of-care ultrasound
  • endotracheal intubation
  • central venous catheter
  • arterial line
  • thoracentesis
  • paracentesis
  • chest tube insertion
• Generate differential diagnoses and diagnose and manage acute and complex illnesses and complications
• Partner with patients and families for health promotion and disease prevention and treatment
• Prescribe and evaluate therapies (medication and non-medication-based)
• Utilize developmental, patient-and family-centered approaches
• Advocate for nursing and the role of the AGACNP

Graduates from our AGACNP track practice independently and within larger healthcare teams. They work in a variety of settings and with diverse populations, including:

• Hospitalist
• Inpatient and Outpatient Specialist Services (e.g., gastroenterologist, infectious disease, neurology, endocrinology, nephrology, hepatology)
• Cardiology (advanced heart failure, structural heart disease, electrophysiology, general)
• Surgical specialties (e.g., cardiothoracic surgery, orthopedics, trauma, otolaryngology)
• Emergency

The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.

View the current DNP Adult-Gero Acute Care NP curriculum grid

Students interested in focusing their practice on restorative care for adults with acute, critical and chronic illnesses and/or injuries should consider applying to the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track. Students interested in focusing their practice on health promotion and disease prevention in adults should consider applying to the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner track.

After successfully completing the AGACNP track, students are eligible to sit for the AGACNP examination through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or American Association of Critical Care Nurses Certification Corporation (AACNCC)

Certified Nurse Midwives are prepared to:

• Perform comprehensive health assessments, including ordering and interpreting diagnostic procedures
• Partner with patients and families for health promotion and disease prevention
• Generate differential diagnoses and manage acute and chronic health problems 
• Prescribe and evaluate therapies (medication and non-medication-based)
• Utilize developmental, patient-and family-centered approaches
• Act as leaders in healthcare systems
• Advocate for the role of Nurse-Midwives and culturally relevant birth workers

Graduates from our Nurse Midwifery track practice independently and within larger healthcare teams. They work in a variety of settings and with diverse populations, including:

• Birthing centers
• Hospitals
• Ambulatory care clinics
• Private offices
• Community and public health centers
• Medically underserved and rural practice settings
• Military installations
• International health agencies

The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.

View the current DNP Nurse-Midwifery curriculum grid

For the years 2021-2024, the combined graduation rates for the DNP and graduate certificate programs were 90%, 93%, and 91%. The weighted graduation rate was 91% over the three years. Graduation rates for the Nurse-Midwifery DNP program were 100%, 91%, and 100%. The weighted graduation rate was 96% over the three years.

The UW Nurse-Midwifery and Women’s Health Clinical Nurse Specialist programs undertook a truth and reconciliation process in 2020-2022 to address harms that impacted former and current students in our program. You can review the final report describing the process and outcomes from this process.

Philosophy

The UW Nurse-Midwifery and Women’s Health Clinical Nurse Specialist programs aim to train and support the education of highly qualified and compassionate health care providers caring for individuals and families through the reproductive life course. We acknowledge the unacceptably high mortality rate of Black and Indigenous birthing people and infants in this country due to medical racism, social determinants of health, and chronic stress. We also acknowledge that systemic racism exists within our school and our programs,  and we strive to build an anti-racist culture in academia to create a more equitable and safe future for all families. Our guiding philosophy is grounded on the following values:

• Autonomy and self-determination: We believe all people have the right to access a full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health care, and we trust people to know what is best for their own bodies and make the best decisions for themselves. We provide training sites for our students to learn skills to provide services, including care related to pregnancy, birth, abortion care, gynecology across the lifespan, primary care, and gender-affirming care for all people seeking these services.
• Social and reproductive justice: We believe that it is our responsibility to leverage the privilege and power granted to us by our position within the healthcare field to support and amplify the voices of those in communities marginalized by racism and discrimination. We recognize the need for all faculty and students to do the work to develop an anti-racist program. We acknowledge the deep history of medical racism and the structures within the healthcare system that perpetuate harm to marginalized communities. We aim for students to emerge from our program with the skills to disrupt and rebuild structures.
• Collaboration and community engagement: We believe that collaboration extends beyond the traditional relationship with our physician colleagues and includes those with expertise in other professions within and outside of the nursing profession. This includes nurses, those in other advanced practice nurse specialties, community-based midwives, nursing and midwifery students, and the communities that we all serve. Our commitment to community engagement is demonstrated by our goal to center community stakeholders, including students and alumni, in how the program is structured and prioritizing our relationships with community partners.
• Accountability:  We hold ourselves accountable for adhering to these values and building systems that maintain integrity in our program. We prioritize student involvement in all aspects of the nurse-midwifery program and center their experiences as foundational to our success. We value the expertise and are accountable to our community partners to ensure we uphold the values we describe.

Mission

The mission of the UW Nurse-Midwifery program is to advance midwifery practice through the preparation of nurse-midwives who will:

• Apply scientific evidence and person-centered care principles to promote the health and well-being of individuals and families in Washington communities and beyond.
• Serve as leaders in advancing healthcare practice by applying, generating, and testing innovative models of care in the areas of perinatal care, sexual and reproductive health care, newborn care, and primary care.
• Disrupt the racist and oppressive systems that impact access to the midwifery profession and midwifery care to improve perinatal outcomes for all communities.
• Be accountable for professional growth, evaluation of practice, and developing and advancing equitable policies supporting the above-described philosophy and mission.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the Nurse-Midwifery track are to prepare graduates who:

1. Provide competent, safe, high-quality, and culturally sensitive nurse-midwifery care to address the health needs of people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, family structures, and communities.*
2. Critically evaluate theories, concepts, and research findings from nursing, midwifery, and related sciences for translation into clinical practice.*
3. Use effective communication and leadership skills in interprofessional teams to promote positive change in the health care of people, newborns, and families.*
4. Use information systems and other technologies to improve the quality and safety of health care for people and newborns.
5. Apply principles of transformative justice and the social determinants of health in evaluating health policies and advocacy for the health of people and families in local, national, and international contexts.
6. Evaluate care systems by analyzing the needs of consumers, health care policies, service delivery and finance models, political contexts, and health indicators to increase access to health care for all people and their families in a variety of communities.

*These objectives are included in the graduate certificate program.

From 2014 to 2016, nurse-midwifery students were 100% female, 10% Hispanic/Latina, 5% Asian, 12% Black/African-American and 2% Native American/Alaska Native. Over the past five years (2012-2016), UW has graduated 44 nurse-midwives. Of these graduates, 37% are working in either rural, primary care shortage areas or with medically underserved populations (program objective 1).

In the most recent employer survey of new graduates, supervisors rated recent graduates of the nurse-midwifery program from 1 (Never) to 5 (Consistently) on program outcomes:

Two public events highlight nurse-midwifery DNP student scholarship:

1. DNP Final Poster Day is open to the public and scheduled in March yearly. Students present their DNP final projects, demonstrating accomplishments related to program objectives 2, 3, 4, and 6.
2. Student Scholarship Day is open to the public and allows the nurse-midwifery student to highlight their DNP projects.

A sample of recent Nurse-midwifery student projects include:

• Implementing Immediate Postpartum Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC)
• Meeting the Health Care Education Needs of Prostituted Individuals
• Development & Evaluation of Category II Fetal Heart Rate Training
• Patient and Provider Satisfaction with a Hospital-Based Doula Program
• MAKING WAVES: An Evidence-Based Waterbirth Protocol
• Tools to Improve Nursing Care in 2^nd Stage Labor

Population Health and Systems Leadership graduates are prepared in:

• Advanced levels of the National Public Health Competencies
• Community and population-level prevention
• Social justice, and
• Collaborative leadership

Students may specialize in a preferred area of community and population health, including:

• Global and cross-cultural health; OR
• Health Systems Transformation; OR
• Community Engagement for Health Equity

Graduates from our PHSL track excel in traditional and non-traditional nursing practice roles in various employment sectors, including:

• Education: Manager of School Health Services, RN-BSN Program Director, Nursing Faculty
• Healthcare: Division Director in hospital and public health institution, Hospital-based Population-level Care Manager or Coordinator, Chronic Disease Program Manager, Director of Clinical Services at a community and migrant health center
• Government: Nurse Manager and Director at urban and rural public health departments, Community Health Director, Advanced Practice Nurse Specialist at public health department, AACN/CDC Public Health Nurse Fellow, Equity & Environment Program Manager
• Tribal Institutions: Community Health Program Supervisor
• Nonprofits: ​Director of a national environmental health nonprofit, Program Director and Assistant Director at local and regional nonprofits, Mental Health Project Manager, Regional Director of Health Equity at a voluntary health agency, Chief Nursing Officer at a nonprofit for global health
• Business: Self-employed Public Health Nurse Consultant, Employee Health Nurse and Program Supervisor

The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.

View the current DNP Population Health & Systems Leadership curriculum grid

Graduates of our DNP-PHSL program may be eligible to apply for the following national certifications:

• Advanced Nursing Executive: American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC)
• Certified in Executive Nursing Practice: American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)
• Basic Certification in Transcultural Nursing: Transcultural Nursing Society (TCNS)
• Advanced Certification in Transcultural Nursing: Transcultural Nursing Society (TCNS)
• Certified in Public Health: National Board of Public Health Examiners

Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioners are prepared to:

• Perform comprehensive health assessments, including ordering, performing, and interpreting diagnostic tests and procedures
• Generate differential diagnoses and diagnose acute and complex illnesses and complications
• Partner with patients and families to manage acute, chronic, and complex health conditions
• Prescribe and evaluate therapies (medication and non-medication-based)
• Utilize developmental, patient- and family-centered approaches
• Advocate for nursing and the role of the PNP-AC

Graduates from our PNP-AC track will be prepared to practice independently and within larger healthcare teams. They may work in a variety of settings and with diverse populations, including:

• Ambulatory pediatric subspecialty care
• Hospitalist
• Inpatient and outpatient pediatric subspecialty services (e.g., gastroenterologist, infectious disease, neurology, endocrinology, nephrology)
• Pediatric emergency departments and urgent care settings
• Pediatric intensive or critical care

The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.

View the current DNP Pediatric Acute Care NP curriculum grid

Students interested in focusing their practice on restorative care for children with acute, critical, and chronic illnesses and/or injuries should consider applying to the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Acute Care track.  Students interested in focusing their practice on child health promotion and disease prevention should consider applying to the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Primary Care track.

Successful PNP-AC graduates are eligible to sit for the Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner examination through Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB).

Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners are prepared to:

• Perform comprehensive health assessments, including ordering and interpreting diagnostic procedures
• Partner with patients and families for health promotion and disease prevention
• Generate differential diagnoses and diagnose and manage acute and chronic health conditions
• Prescribe and evaluate therapies (medication and non-medication-based)
• Use developmental, patient- and family-centered approaches
• Advocate for nursing and the role of the AGPCNP

Graduates from our AGPCNP track practice independently and within larger healthcare teams. They work in a variety of settings and with diverse populations, including:

• Primary care
• Internal medicine
• Skilled/long-term care
• Urgent care
• Subspecialty services (e.g., oncology, cardiology, neurology)
• Medically underserved and rural practice settings
• Veteran health

The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.

View the current DNP Adult-Gero Primary Care NP curriculum grid

Students interested in focusing their practice on restorative care for adults with acute, critical and chronic illnesses and/or injuries should consider applying to the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track. Students interested in focusing their practice on health promotion and disease prevention in adults should consider applying to the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner track.

After successfully completing the AGPCNP track, AGPCNP students are eligible to sit for the AGNP Primary Care examination through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP).

Women’s Health CNS graduates are prepared to explore and analyze:

• Normal physiologic changes and psychosocial events during the childbearing cycle
• Pathophysiologic events and chronic health conditions affecting the mother
• Fetus and/or neonate in at-risk situations
• Family adaptations

Women’s Health CNSs most often work in a hospital or institutional setting, providing leadership, consultation, and education support to maternity units, and providing expert direct nursing care. Graduates from our program have taken positions as:

• Maternity clinical nurse specialist
• Nurse manager
• Outreach educator
• Staff developer

The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.

View the current DNP Women’s Health CNS curriculum grid

At this time, there is no certification exam for the Women’s Health CNS offered by national certification organizations.
Our Women’s Health CNS curriculum follows the Women’s Health CNS Competencies published by the Association of Women’s Health Obstetric & Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) in 2014.

Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioners are prepared to:

• Take medical histories and conduct physical, psychological, and psychiatric assessments, including ordering and interpreting psychiatric-related diagnostic testing
• Work with patients with psychiatric and mental health conditions such as mood disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dementia, and substance use disorders.
• Generate differential diagnoses, provide psychotherapies with evidence-based intervention, and manage psychotropic medications.
• Partner with patients and families, and interdisciplinary colleagues to promote mental health and prevention
• Advocate for nursing and the role of the PMHNP

Graduates from our PMHNP track practice independently and within larger healthcare teams. They work in a variety of settings and with diverse populations, including:

• Outpatient clinics (community mental health, private practice)
• Community health centers (urban and rural)
• Inpatient settings
• Correctional facilities
• Schools
• Home health agencies
• Veteran’s facilities
• Integrated primary care and behavioral health settings

The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.

View the current DNP Psych Mental Health NP curriculum grid

Successful graduates of the PMHNP Program are eligible to sit for the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Across the Lifespan) examination through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).